So far, 11 members of parliament have said they will take part in the contest for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party after Johnson quit following a series of scandals. Whoever wins will also become prime minister and have the opportunity to call a snap election.
The party committee organising the leadership race said nominations would officially open and close on Tuesday. Contenders need at least 20 nominations from the party’s 358 legislators to take part in the first round of voting on Wednesday. A second vote to narrow the field is scheduled for Thursday, with the final two candidates facing a postal ballot of party members.
“I am very keen we get this concluded as smoothly, cleanly, and rapidly as possible,” said Graham Brady, the committee’s chair, AlJazeera reported.
Former ministers, including Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid whose resignations helped lead to the collapse of Johnson’s government following a series of scandals, are among those bidding to replace the 58-year-old Johnson.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and newly-installed Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi have also declared they will run, while Home Secretary Priti Patel is reportedly mulling a bid.
But a poll of grassroots members by the influential ConservativeHome website released on Monday showed strong support for less well-known candidates, with former Defence Minister Penny Mordaunt holding a narrow lead over Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch.
“There seems to be quite a big field at the moment, a lively contest,” Brady said. “I hope we will have a very constructive contest, but [also] a really good opportunity for a proper, healthy, constructive debate about the future direction of the Conservative Party.”
Taxation has already emerged as a big issue among the candidates with many promising to cut business or personal taxes, but whoever wins the leadership race will be faced with a daunting in-tray.
Britons are facing a cost of living crisis and the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades, against a backdrop of surging gas and fuel prices exacerbated by the Ukraine war.
ZZ/PR